Series Recap: Yankees Take Three Games Out of Four in Cleveland
Photo Via: Tony Dejak — Associated Press
Cleveland, Ohio: The home of the last Yankees’ Postseason series victory. The Yankees rolled into town with a 6-11 record, resembling nothing of a playoff team other than once every five days when ace Gerrit Cole takes the ball. With a matchup of aces on the schedule (Gerrit Cole vs. Shane Bieber) for Saturday, each team badly needed to grab a win in the first two games to avoid having their backs against the wall. The Yankees were able to earn come from behind victories in each of the first three games, but then Cleveland returned the favor in the series finale. Here is how each game went down:
Game 1 (Yankees 6, Indians 3)
The first inning looked exactly like the rest of the games the Yankees have played this season. It featured a mixture of head-scratching mistakes, semi-pathetic effort, and bad luck. The offense stretched Indians’ starting pitcher Aaron Civale to 25 pitches in the first, but was unable to get a run home when Gleyber Torres struck out with two on and two out.
In the bottom half of the inning, Cesar Hernandez reached base on what was ruled a single, but Brett Gardner would most certainly tell you was his own error. Hernandez popped a ball to shallow left and Gardner charged it and got to the spot to make the catch, but the ball popped out of his glove. A José Ramírez double and Eddie Rosario single made the score 1-0 Indians. The very next play was a weak ground ball hit back to Germán by Franmil Reyes. It could have been a double play ball, but Germán botched the transfer to his throwing hand, so a run scored on his error and everybody was safe. The Indians scored one more time on a single by Josh Naylor which deflected off of a diving Mike Ford. The inning ended with Cleveland leading 3-0.
In the top of the third inning, the Yankees finally woke up. Kyle Higashioka doubled to lead off the frame, and moved to third on a balk, so the Yankees were in great position to at least get a run on the board. D.J. LeMahieu delivered with a 1-out RBI single, and then three batters later the game was tied on a Torres single combined with a fielding error by right fielder Josh Naylor.
Germán settled in and was able to get the Yankees through 6 innings in a 3-3 game. Aside from the chaos of the first inning and Franmil Reyes’ first career triple in the third inning, Germán’s outing was uneventful, which is exactly what you hope for.
In the top of the 7th, Rougned Odor stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and 2 outs. On a 2-0 count, Odor smacked a ground ball right up the middle to plate two runners and the Yankees grabbed a 5-3 lead. The lead was passed to the bullpen, who all did their job.
Jonathan Loaisiga, Chad Green, and Aroldis Chapman faced 11 batters over the final 3 innings. They held the Indians scoreless and received an extra insurance run in the 8th inning from a Kyle Higashioka solo shot. The Yankees took this one 6-3 after trailing 3-0 early.
Yankee of the Day: Gleyber Torres (1): 3 for 5, R, RBI.
Game 2 (Yankees 5, Indians 3)
Once again, the Indians jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, and once again it was not enough. Jordan Montgomery was extremely wild in the first, as he allowed two walks, a double, and a single as part of the three run Cleveland inning. Just like Germán, Montgomery settled in, and also like Germán, the offense had his back.
In the second inning, Aaron Hicks hit a solo homer off Indians’ starter Logan Allen. A few batters later, Rougned Odor blasted an absolute bomb to tie the game 3-3. In the third inning, Giancarlo Stanton did some yard work of his own to give the Yanks a 4-3 lead. Just two innings later it was Giancarlo again! Stanton hit his second solo homer of the game (5-3 NYY).
Although Montgomery kept the Indians off the scoreboard after the first inning, he was removed with 2 outs in the fifth. He probably should have been out of the inning, but a ground ball rolled by Gleyber Torres (ruled a base hit), which should have been fielded to allow Montgomery to qualify for the win.
Instead, Lucas Luetge entered the game and recorded his first major league win since 2013. Darren O’Day, Chad Green, and Aroldis Chapman faced the minimum 9 batters to close out the 5-3 win.
Yankee of the Day: Giancarlo Stanton (2): 2 for 4, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.
Game 3 (Yankees 2, Indians 1)
If you enjoy a top flight pitching matchup, this was the game for you. Aces Gerrit Cole and Shane Bieber took the mound and did not disappoint those looking for a duel.
Through three innings, each team had one hit and zero runs. Cole had 6 strikeouts at that point and Bieber had 4. Then in the fourth inning, Cole hung a breaking ball up in the zone to the wrong guy. José Ramírez sent it high and far enough to be a home run, but Aaron Judge leaped and reached up to bring it back into the ballpark. Unfortunately, the ball fell out of Judge’s glove as his arm made contact with the top of the wall, so the result of the play was a triple for J-Ram. Ramírez scored on a Rosario single on the very next pitch.
Once again, the Yankees answered back. Aaron Hicks smashed his second homer of the series to tie the game at 1-1. Bieber then struck out Clint Frazier and Higashioka, but fell behind in the count to Rougned Odor, who made him pay for it. Odor drilled a homer to right field and did so with style.
The ace now had a 2-1 lead and he did not look like he wanted to give it back. Cole retired the final 11 hitters he faced, which goes back to the Rosario single. Cole has been electric in the middle innings all season so far. Here is Cole’s stat line depending on where his pitch count is this season:
Pitches 1-25: 7 for 27, .259 BAA, .286 OBP, .545 OPS, 9 Ks, 2 Rs, 0 HR
Pitches 26-50: 7 for 24, .292 BAA, .308 OBP, .683 OPS, 14 Ks, 2 Rs, 0 HR
Pitches 51-75: 2 for 30, .067 BAA, .097 OBP, .230 OPS, 13 Ks, 1 R, 0 HR
Pitches 76-100: 2 for 27, .074 BAA, .107 OBP, .292 OPS, 11 Ks, 1 R, 1 HR
Pitches 101+: 2 for 6, .333 BAA, .333 OBP, .833 OPS, 3 Ks, 1 R, 0 HR
Justin Wilson was called upon for the eighth inning. He faced three batters, retiring two and allowing one to reach on a walk, then advance to second on a wild pitch.
In came Jonathan Loaisiga, who was brilliant in this series. Loaisiga ended the threat in the eighth, then went on to record his first ever major league save in a 2-1 victory.
Yankee of the Day: Gerrit Cole (2): 7 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 11 K, W.
Game 4 (Yankees 3, Indians 7)
The script was flipped in the final game of the series. Both offenses were quiet through three innings of play. Jameson Taillon was dialed in for the Yanks and Triston McKenzie the same for the Indians. In fact, Taillon struck out the side in the third (Cleveland’s 8-9-1 hitters) and looked confident out there, blowing heaters past the home team’s batters.
Then the fourth inning arrived. Gleyber Torres singled to lead off the frame. Gio Urshela then launched a 2-run shot and was followed by a Mike Ford blast. With a 3-0 lead, it appeared as if the Yanks were well on their way to a four-game sweep.
The bottom of the fourth opened up with three consecutive singles for Cleveland against Taillon, including one run scored. Then the dagger happened, Taillon threw a fastball and Franmil Reyes ripped it the opposite way for a 3-run go-ahead home run. Taillon finished the inning but was replaced by Nick Nelson for the fifth.
Nelson struggled once again. He let the game get too far out of reach, surrendering 3 runs on 4 hits and a walk. Since the Indians were able to deploy their shutdown relievers, James Karinchak and Emmanuel Clase, the Yankees did not stand a chance in fighting their way back. Ultimately, the Yankees dropped the final game 7-3.
Yankee of the Day: Luis Cessa (1): 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K, on 29th birthday.
Series Talking Points
Rougned Odor Clutch: The Yankees needed big hits in each of their first three games of the series. Each time it was Rougned Odor who delivered. Odor’s time as a starting member of this team may be limited, but he has made an immediate impact in his short time with the Yankees.
D.J. LeMahieu Struggles: Rarely has D.J. LeMahieu been the topic of conversation when discussing Yankees offensive players who did not get the job done. In fact, LeMahieu has consistently been remarkable since arriving in New York. But this series established a pattern for No. 26. He grounded out to the shortstop 6 times over two games (Friday and Saturday). It is probably nothing he cannot snap out of, but for now it is puzzling. LeMahieu’s signature swing is him barreling baseballs the opposite way for a line drive single. Instead, he is rolling over the ball for weak contact. The upcoming Yankees’ trip to Camden Yards typically solves offensive woes, however.
Series Totals
Hitting
D.J. LeMahieu: 2 for 12 (.167 AVG), 1 BB (.231 OBP), 1 R, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 2 K (.397 OPS), 0 SB
Aaron Judge: 2 for 13 (.154 AVG), 5 BB (.389 OBP), 1 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 6 K (.620 OPS), 0 SB
Aaron Hicks: 3 for 12 (.250 AVG), 1 BB (.308 OBP), 2 R, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 4 K (1.058 OPS), 0 SB
Giancarlo Stanton: 4 for 13 (.308 AVG), 0 BB (.308 OBP), 2 R, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 K (1.077 OPS), 0 SB
Gleyber Torres: 5 for 16 (.313 AVG), 1 BB (.353 OBP), 2 R, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 2 K (.665 OPS), 0 SB
Gary Sánchez: 1 for 6 (.167 AVG), 1 BB, 1 HBP (.375 OBP), 0 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 K (.542 OPS), 0 SB
Gio Urshela: 1 for 10 (.100 AVG), 2 BB (.250 OBP), 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 5 K (.650 OPS), 0 SB
Clint Frazier: 0 for 8 (.000 AVG), 5 BB (.385 OBP), 0 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 4 K (.385 OPS), 0 SB
Brett Gardner: 1 for 8 (.125 AVG), 1 BB (.222 OBP), 0 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2 K (.347 OPS), 0 SB
Kyle Higashioka: 2 for 8 (.250 AVG), 1 BB (.333 OBP), 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 3 K (1.083 OPS), 0 SB
Mike Tauchman: 2 for 5 (.400 AVG), 1 BB (.500 OBP), 0 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 3 K (1.100 OPS), 0 SB
Mike Ford: 1 for 8 (.125 AVG), 1 BB (.222 OBP), 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 K (.722 OPS), 0 SB
Rougned Odor: 4 for 15 (.267 AVG), 2 BB (.353 OBP), 2 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 3 K (1.020 OPS), 0 SB
Pitching
Domingo Germán: 6 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 0 HR, 6 Ks, W, 3.00 ERA
Jordan Montgomery: 4.2 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 0 HR, 5 Ks, 5.79 ERA
Gerrit Cole: 7 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 11 Ks, W, 1.29 ERA
Jameson Taillon: 4 IP, 4 R, 4 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 1 HR, 6 Ks, 9.00 ERA
Nick Nelson: 2 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 0 HR, 2 Ks, 13.50 ERA
Justin Wilson: 0.2 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 0 HR, 0 Ks, 0.00 ERA
Luis Cessa: 2 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 2 Ks, 0.00 ERA
Lucas Luetge: 1.1 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 0 HR, 1 K, W, 0.00 ERA
Darren O’Day: 1 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 0 Ks, 0.00 ERA
Chad Green: 2 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 1 K, 0.00 ERA
Jonathan Loaisiga: 2.1 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 1 Ks, 1 SV, 0.00 ERA
Aroldis Chapman: 2 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 0 HR, 4 Ks, 2 SVs, 0.00 ERA